


Tell Me Why - ZDH

by anothergirlinlove (ObsessedWithBands)



Series: Something Different (Why Don't We) [4]
Category: Why Don't We (Band)
Genre: Concerts, Confusion, Domestic Violence, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Heartbreak, Love at First Sight, Reality, Romance, Sad, Teen Fiction, Teenagers, ariana grande - Freeform, surprise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-17 10:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16973310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsessedWithBands/pseuds/anothergirlinlove
Summary: During a concert, Zachary Dean Herron notices a girl getting pushed around by her boyfriend.When he sees the first punch, his heart reaches out to her, and takes him with it.Vivian Cole meets someone who could fix the broken pieces of her heart......and give her his in return.





	Tell Me Why - ZDH

Vivian.

Me and Arthur walked onto the concert venue, hand in hand.

Today was the day I was gonna go to my first concert...and I was lucky to go to one of Ariana Grande's.

"Excited?" Arthur asked, squeezing my hand to get my attention. I nodded, looking at the empty stage and all the fans around us. The sad thing was, I don't think Arthur was as excited as me.

Ever since he picked me up at my house and we drove to the venue, he wasn't acting normally. He kept looking away from me and talking to me less than he usually did, enough to make me worried.

"Are _you_ excited?" I said softly as we stopped walking through fans to get to a nice spot in front of the stage. Arthur still wouldn't look at me, even though we were standing close to each other.

Maybe...it was because of his dad.

His dad passed away because of a car accident exactly one year ago, today. And I was determined to help him think about something else during the concert.

When Ari walked onstage and began to sing, I was glad to see Arthur returning to his normal self...slowly, at least. I think it helped that I was there with him, singing with him and holding his hand. He's always told me that I was great company, and I've always tried to be a good girlfriend.

But everything changed when he saw a girl with her dad.

At one point in the concert, he had stopped singing and was just standing and staring straight at something. I followed his line of sight, and noticed that there was a girl standing with a man that seemed like he would be her father. They were laughing and singing together.

And then I looked at Arthur.

His face was distorted in what seemed like a frown. But there was something behind it. Sadness. Longing. _Hopelessness_.

"Babe, we can go somewhere else," I began, but then I stopped. He was now faced towards me, and his facial expression had changed.

Sadness. Longing. _Anger_.

"Stop--no. Stop talking to me." Arthur said, letting go of my hand and making me step back in response. I was surprised. He has never, ever acted this way before. This was seriously something different. I didn't know what to do.

I reached for his hand again, but he moved away. And started running. I followed, at his pace.

He ran to the outer edge of the crowd, then stopped and ran his hands through his hair. I didn't know whether to cry or yell at him to tell me what he's feeling. I didn't know whether to get help or continue to talk to him. I didn't know... _him_.\

"Art, talk to me, please," I said, the background noise of the world fading away. Arthur's frown was still on his face, and he didn't look at me. Instead, he took out his phone. I stepped closer and saw him going to iMessage and start texting his mom.

"Are you...leaving? Are you okay? Talk to me!" My tone became forceful. Then, he made eye contact with me.

" _I said, stop talking to me. You're not helping me. At all._ " Arthur replied, putting his phone away and clenching his fists. I shrank back immediately. No. This can't be. He can't be like this. This really isn't him.

And I'm getting scared.

"Please, don't--this isn't you. Arthur, I want to help you. I want to understand how you're feeling. I know I can't relate--"

"THEN STOP TALKING TO ME!"

"I WANT TO HELP YOU THROUGH THIS! I'M HERE FOR YOU! I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" I shouted at him.

I wasn't even able to move...

...I wasn't even able to see his fist as it collided into my cheek.

Darkness.

\-----

Zach.

There I was, at one of my favorite singers' concerts. All I wanted to do was enjoy myself.

And then I saw one of the worst things i've ever seen before.

Something I've _never_ seen before.

I saw a girl fall out of the corner of my eye. And I saw a guy who was supposedly her boyfriend, standing there with his fist raised.

So many things began to fill my mind, but without a second thought, i began to stride towards her. At that point, I'd go through whatever shit i'd have to go through in order for her to be safe. Whoever she was.

" _Hey_!" I shouted, my fingers curling into fists. The boyfriend turned to me mid-step, but before he could stop me, I knelt to the ground and moved a protective arm in front of her.

"Whatever you're doing to her, _stop_." I said forcefully. The girl was still unconscious. _Does she feel that I'm here? Does she know that I'm here for her?_

"Aye, bro, I'm not looking for any trouble," the guy said, a frown on his face. My fists clenched even tighter. _Who was he to say that? Does he even realize that this kind of thing happens to many couples around the world?_

_Does he know that he just subjected her to that kind of relationship?_

"Really? Cause it seems like you are, with the way your fists are clenched and the way you're talking to me." I replied, moving the girl so her head was on my lap and she seemed more comfortable. The guy looked at me with an evil look in his eyes, but I stood my ground.

I wasn't going to let anything else happen to this girl, even if I got beat up in the process.

I wasn't going to let him abuse her anymore, even if she still went back to him...for any reason at all.

"You want to keep her?" The guy asked, pointing at her as if he was talking about an animal. He wasn't even referring to her as a person anymore. _What is with this guy?_

I couldn't respond. I was too shocked by the way he was acting.

"Fine. Take her. She doesn't even care about me and how _I'm_ feeling, so why should I care about her?" The guy turned around as he spoke, so I couldn't hear him anymore. Like I even cared about what he was saying.

As he got farther and farther away, I became conscious of the few people who were walking towards me. One of the people was Corbyn, who I went to the concert with. The other people were fans, probably of Ariana and maybe fans of us. Or maybe both...but at the moment I didn't care.

"Everything good, man?" Corbyn asked me, looking at the girl laying on my lap and in my arms. I shook my head, gesturing for him and the fans to step back to give her space. I also told Corbyn to make sure no one starts recording or anything, because if I was unconscious, I wouldn't want random people to start recording me, even if a popular singer was near me. I heard one of the fans say hi, but even though I wanted to say hello to them, the person that mattered to me most at the moment was the girl. Who was also starting to wake up.

Her eyes fluttered open, and two piercing blue eyes looked up at me.

"Who are...you?" she asked. I made eye contact with her before speaking, admiring how her eyes were a really harsh blue, yet she had the softest facial expression that would let everyone who saw her know that she would act nice to them from the start.

"I'm Zach."

I looked around me to check if the dude she was with was still in my line of sight, but thankfully, he wasn't. I saw out of the corner of my eye that she was doing the same.

"He--he hit me," the girl whispered, and I could sense that she was on the verge of crying. I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug, and she leaned into my embrace. I think it was the right thing she needed.

"Was he...your boyfriend?" I asked softly, hoping I didn't trigger her more by talking about him.

"Emphasis on the word 'was'..." she replied, her voice so quiet that I almost didn't hear her.

"What's your name?" I asked, moving to stand up and help her do the same. She put a hand on her forehead as she stood, and I could tell she was still shaken.

"Vivian."

"That's a beautiful name." I gave her a smile.

She returned it.

"You doing okay?" I heard Corbyn ask her. She turned to him, nodding slowly. She noticed the small crowd standing around him, and a confused look appeared on her face. Vivian leaned close to me and whispered into my ear.

"Why are they all staring at you and your friend?"

Judging by that question...I guess she didn't know a lot about us, or never heard about us. And that was perfectly okay.

"We're in a band, called Why Don't We." I said, also introducing Corbyn. He waved from where he was standing, then turned around to talk to our fans so that they could kind of give me and Vivian a little more privacy.

She was staring at me, still with her soft facial expression. I think she might have recognized us then.

"Okay...you guys are part of the man band who sang 8 Letters?" she said, casually brushing dust off her sleeve. I nodded and smiled a little brighter, stepping closer to her and mentally thanking her for saying we were a 'man' band.

A comfortable silence passed, with us both looking towards Ariana, who was singing Thank You, Next, and then at Corbyn, who was being handed a bottle of lotion to sign. Then Vivian looked in the direction she last saw her boyfriend. I suddenly found myself reaching for her hand and taking it. I could just picture Jonah telling me that we were in public. Anyone could be seeing me holding hands with this girl I just met. Anything could happen in one second.

One post.

One comment.

But a part of me just wanted to live my life, holding Vivian's hand forever and even...maybe...asking her out, right there and then.

The feeling of acting on impulse was still in my heart, ever since I strode to her after her boyfriend hit her.

It's like I would do anything for her.

_What has gotten into me..._

"Do you have a ride home?" I asked. Vivian turned towards me, and I saw for a split second that she was possibly thinking of telling me something that wasn't the correct answer...something that would make me feel better, rather than just tell me the truth.

But she ended up telling me the truth.

"No...he left." she replied. I squeezed her hand, pulling her one step closer.

"We'll give you a ride." I immediately said. Vivian shook her head vigorously, sneaking a glance at the fans around Corbyn.

"Aren't you guys...won't something happen?"

Understanding passed through us, through words I didn't say. 

Words I didn't _have_ to say.

"I insist. I want to give you a ride home."

"Are you--sure?"

"Yes. Me and Corbyn, well, we're leaving right now, actually." I said. I made her follow me to where Corbyn was standing, and I could feel every fan's attention go to me.

"You ready to go?" I asked, while still making sure that no one took any pictures or videotaped what was happening. It was a hard thing to do, but thanks to some fans, everyone got the point and obeyed.

"You sure you don't want to finish this concert?" Corbyn asked me, and amidst all the things on my mind, I remembered that Ariana Grande still had a place in my heart.

"I mean, I would if I could, but I need to make sure she gets a taxi home, and concerts happen a lot. I'll just go to another one." I reasoned. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vivian had a confused look on her face again, probably because I've been telling her we'd give her a ride, but then I said 'taxi'.

"Alright then..."

Corbyn and I signed things for and hugged our fans, and said our goodbyes before heading towards the merch booth. Sure, I was going to miss the rest of my queen's concert, but that didn't mean I had to leave without buying some merch first.

After I bought a Sweetener track t-shirt and the Sweetener cover hoodie, me and Corbyn headed out to the nearest sidewalk curb and ordered an Uber, which was assigned to the address Vivian gave me of her house.

Corbyn and I waited with her on the curb until the Uber came, but when the car pulled up, I cleared my throat before she started to walk to the car. Corbyn looked at me. Vivian stopped and turned to me.

"D'you want to say something, bro?" Corbyn said quizzically, wondering why I acted that way. I didn't usually wait to say something, I usually just spoke before thinking. But this time, I had to think about what I was going to say next. I was definitely going to act out of the ordinary, and it was hard to think of how Corbyn might react.

"Yeah, actually..." I absentmindedly played with my t-shirt sleeve as I spoke, and by that time, Corbyn knew something was up.

"What?" Vivian said, brushing her fingers through her locks.

"I'll go with you." I said. Corbyn's eyes grew wide. Vivian took a deep breath. It was hard to read her facial expression at the time.

"O--kay?" Corbyn said, stretching out the word. I could tell he was thinking the same thing as me...I never acted this way before. Vivian stepped towards me and took my hand.

"Thank you for what you did, but--you don't... _have_ to go with me..." Vivian spoke, and I could see Corbyn looking between us, back and forth. I smiled softly. Although her facial expression was hard to read, her movements made it clear that she was okay with me going with her, for whatever reason.

"I can. I, I want to. That's fine, right?" I looked over at Corbyn, and he shrugged. We both knew that if someone saw me, so many possibilities could happen. But at that moment, we both knew that something was going on with me.

During all the talks me and Corbyn have had about relationships and growing up, he knows that I've thought about having a girlfriend. He knows that I've noticed how many girls' hearts I've already taken, yet I've still been looking for that someone who would take mine.

And even though I just met Vivian a while ago...

even though I don't know a lot about her...

even though I've imagined that I would fall in love with someone after a few dates...

...the time I've spent with Vivian proved to me that there were people in this world who have experienced worse than me.

This was just another part of growing up.

And I wanted to grow up even more by helping Vivian through this, while learning more about her and helping her to love again.

\---

Stats:

Vivian = 18. Short. Blue eyes. Brown to blonde ombre hair, shoulder length. Seemingly normal life. Doesn't really know a lot about Why Don't We. Has a soft spot for Zach. Now...single.  
Arthur = 17. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Tall. Cares about his family. Misses his father so hard, it hurts. Now...single.

Zach = 17. Brown hair. Tall. Has a good sense of humor. Admires girls who know what they want in life. Still wonders what will happen in his future. Single.  
Corbyn = 20. Bleached blonde hair. Tall. Also known as 'chev'. Brings an easy smile to the face of whoever he meets. Goes by the name of 'Joe' when ordering at Starbucks. Single.

Song References:

= Words I Didn't Say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow...that was something :')
> 
> leave kudos and comments pleez!
> 
> it's something to write about a band you like, but it's a _something different_ to write about someone you genuinely like in real life, who's your favorite, in the band.
> 
> i really hope i summed up the way i view zach. he's kind, he's soft-hearted, he's attractive in so many ways. he's more than just looks.
> 
> i like him so much :)

**Author's Note:**

> please leave kudos and comments :)
> 
> p.s. when i finish doing all the first chapters of each work, i'll start doing the next chapters (lol i really did this in a confusing way but hey it gives a preview of each story, and that's good)


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